Your air conditioner may shut off and sustain harm if it overheats.

So what initially causes an AC to overheat? When a certain AC component is overworked and causes the rest of the system to become under stress, ACs frequently overheat and shut down.

The three most frequently overheating AC components are:

The compressor

A fan’s motor

The capacitor

This blog post will explain what leads to the overheating of these components and how to avoid it in the future.

1. The compressor

Because it circulates refrigerant throughout the whole system, the compressor is the most crucial component of your air conditioning system. A chilly, chemical substance called refrigerant removes heat and moisture from the air within your house. Nevertheless, your air conditioner would be unable to cool your house without a working compressor. What causes a compressor to overheat and stop working?

A dirty exterior unit is a frequent cause of the compressor overheating. Your air conditioner’s outdoor unit houses the compressor, which cannot function correctly when covered in grime, dirt, or leaves. As a result, the AC must run longer and harder. The AC eventually overheats as a result of the compressor overworking itself.

Contact an HVAC professional to clean your outdoor unit in order to repair an overheated compressor.

2. The fan motor

The blower motor of your air conditioner, which is located in the indoor unit, is made to draw warm air from your house and distribute cool air throughout it. Because it draws heated air from your home, which is then cooled by your AC system, the motor is essential to the operation of your AC. Your AC will stop working if this motor shuts down due to overheating.

A clogged air filter is a typical cause of your blower motor overheating. The blower motor may overheat if the air filter is blocked because it must work harder to draw heated air into the system.

You should inspect your air filter every two months to prevent your fan motor from overheating. You should change the filter if it is gets dirty and loaded with dust.

3. The capacitor

The compressor, condenser fan, and indoor blower motors are all started with the assistance of three capacitors, which are present in the majority of AC systems. The motor it helps start won’t turn on if a capacitor overheats, and the entire AC system won’t work properly.

Capacitors are susceptible to overheating if:-

There is a problem in relay switch

There is a power surges

The capacitor is very old age.

You must seek the assistance of an HVAC expert to replace an overheated capacitor.

Other causes of overheating air conditioners are mentioned below.

1 Clogged air filter.

One of the most crucial parts of your air conditioning system is the air filter. A blocked air filter can cause poor indoor air quality, an increase in energy costs, and, of course, overheating of your air conditioner. The accumulation of dirt, dust, or pet dander can obstruct airflow throughout your system and home if your air filter hasn’t been changed frequently enough (it should be changed once each season). Your system will be forced to operate longer and become easily worn down as a result. Make sure your air filter is clean if you notice your air conditioner overheating.

2. Low Refrigerant

Because your air conditioner is a closed-loop system, refrigerant shouldn’t leak from it. However, you might want to call an HVAC expert if you discover a refrigerant leak (go behind your exterior condenser and feel the refrigerant lines; if they are cold, that indicates they are operating properly). Low refrigerant levels can make your vents blast heated air, take longer to cool, and lead to overheating.

3. Contaminated condenser coils

Your outdoor condenser unit houses the condenser coil. It is in charge of transferring heat away from the unit and condensing the refrigerant back to liquid. Your condenser coil won’t function properly if it is covered in dirt or dust, though. Your air conditioner will overheat and break down if it can’t transfer heat quickly. You have two options for resolving this problem: coil cleaning or expert maintenance by an HVAC technician.

4. Lack of professional upkeep

It is very likely that your air conditioner will have a number of problems if you haven’t kept an eye on it or haven’t hired a professional HVAC technician to do routine maintenance. Spend some time looking into a few reliable HVAC contractors in your neighbourhood so you can pick the one that best suits your requirements and your demands.

5. Dirty fan blades

On the fan blades in your air handler, dirt can accumulate over time. As a result of this accumulation, the fan blades will become heavier and your air handler’s motor will have to work harder to keep the fan spinning. The motor will eventually become too hot as a result of this.

6. Filthy or frozen cooling coils. 

Your air conditioner’s ability to remove enough heat from the air in your home is hampered by two problems: dirty coils and frozen coils. Your air conditioner will do lengthier cooling cycles that could lead to various components overheating because it won’t be able to reduce the temperature in your home as much as usual.

7. Rusty Or Loose Electrical Connections

Your HVAC system may overheat as a result of loose electrical connections. The voltage can be high or low due to corroded wires. This causes the temperature to rise. In addition, an old wiring short occurs. In turn, this results in overheating. Any electrical issue with the system poses a danger because it might cause a fire. We can examine the electrical components of the heating and cooling system. All the necessary precautions will be taken by our specialists to keep you safe at all times.

8. An aging system in hot weather.

Your air conditioner’s performance will start to deteriorate as it nears the end of its useful life. Simply said, an outdated system won’t be able to chill your home sufficiently. When it’s particularly hot outdoors, this can be a big concern because you’ll be stressing out system parts that are already underperforming and your air conditioner could easily overheat.

Conclusion

The simplest approach to keep your air conditioner from overheating is to change your air filter in a timely manner and schedule a tune-up for your system before each cooling season, as is the case with many other air conditioner issues.